Bartercard Cup - Round 5 Preview

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Round 5 already of New Zealand's Bartercard Cup and already the top teams of the competition are starting to cement their places. Stand out performances by the Hibicus Coast Raiders have seen them remain the only unbeaten team so far.

Otahuhu Leopards have not looked good so far, with no wins, and will find it tough to come out on top of a Marist Richmond Brothers side who seem to be going from strength to strength with each game.

The Wellington side travel up to Auckland to take on an Eastern Tornadoes side who will not be happy after their loss to the Canterbury Bulls last weekend. Wellington finally had their first win of the competition in Round 4, in fine fashion, so will be looking to improve on this, which should be a tough prospect.

Mt Albert coach, John Ackland would've had the boys training hard this week, after their disappointing loss to Manuwera last Saturday. Central suffered badly at the hands of Marist, and could well get thumped again this weekend by the Lions.

Hibicus Coast Raiders are hosting the Taranaki Wildcats at Stanmore Bay. This is the case of a top of the table side up against the bottom team, and the score will probably reflect this. The Wildcats suffered some bad media coverage during the week with speculation that after 4 losses, they might be pulling out of the competiton. A win would certainly boost their morale, but I cannot see it happening this week against an on fire Raiders pack.

Another night match for the Canterbury Bulls when they host the North Harbour Tigers. This, in my opinion, is the match of the round. The Tigers were unlucky to lose against the Raiders last weekend, and the Bulls played well against the visiting Eastern side.
A very even contest down South.

Kelly Shelford's Manuwera side will be brimming with confidence after last weekend's win over the previously undefeated 2002 champions, Mt Albert. They will have to be on their toes as the Bears will be playing with a lot of passion after the tragic loss of Glenora stalwart George Rainey during the week, losing his battle with lung cancer.